The Halfway Point

If I hadn't visited BlogHer today, I would not have known.

I'm halfway to achieving the goal of NaBloPoMo - publishing a new blog post every day during the month of November.

There were two days that I missed, one because I started a day late and one because I went out to dinner with the girls (completely excusable, in my opinion).  But I have published fourteen posts so far this month.

Let's do a little reflecting, shall we?

Obviously, not all of my posts were mind-blowingly fantastic.  To quote Depeche Mode, it's a lot like life.  Not every moment of every day is brilliant and inspiring and funny and worth sharing.  I did have some highlights, and the Fruit Fly Saga is possibly my favorite "story arc."  

I've noticed that my writing is more interesting when I let my guard down.  If I've had a glass of wine, or I'm not feeling 100%, I tend to type whatever is on my mind and not self-edit so much.  The lesson?  Just get my thoughts out there without overthinking.  The raw, unfiltered words tend to work better than the ones that have been agonized over.  Kind of like a meatloaf, my writing works better if it hasn't been excessively manhandled.  (besides, that's what revisions and editors are for, right?)

Moving forward?  I need to keep on writing.  I need to be less self-conscious when I write.  I need to use my iPhone to jot down notes so I don't lose those small moments that can be crafted into a post.  I need to be more disciplined - right now I'm sitting on my couch, typing away as "The Soup" plays on the TV in the background.  Honestly, disciplined writing at a designated time in a designated writing space will probably not happen right away.  Maybe not for a few months, or years, even.  Finding time to do much of anything without interruptions from little people is near impossible.  So for now, it's sofa city, sweetheart.  (bonus points to anyone born after 1977 who can name the film)

And so, I will write.  Maybe one day I will share it with more than one person.  And maybe, just maybe, lots of people will read what I write.  And like it.  And think it's really funny and poignant and real.  Maybe one of those people will like my writing enough to pay me to write stuff for lots of people to read.  That might be the coolest. thing. ever.  Writing for money.

Hmm, where would I like to see my writing published?  I'll have to chew on that for a bit.  Definitely fodder for a future post.

But before I sign off for the night, extra special thanks to Sensei's Wife.  I cannot thank you enough for your editorial expertise, thought provoking questions, and unwavering support.  Oh, and your friendship.  More than anything else, your friendship.  xoxo

Productivity at Home

Still fighting that damn cold.  I neti potted twice today.

Everyone in the house is fighting this cold.  Every. single. one. of us.  As you can imagine, we're quite the happy bunch.

I skipped my weekly Pilates class.  I absolutely hate missing Pilates (it's the first workout I've found that has almost gotten rid of my three-baby belly fat), but I had to suck it up today so that everybody (T and S in particular) would be healthy enough to go to school tomorrow.  Instead, I got a bunch of stuff done around the house.

Shall I elaborate?  Why yes, I shall.  Today I:

• cleaned the bathtub in the boys' bathroom
• did the grownups' laundry
• vacuumed the shelves and drawers in the kitchen
• found, washed, and put away the pots and pan
• took a nap

I see some of you looking quizzically at me.  You think that my list isn't that impressive.  You think that I didn't get all that much done.  Okay, you're entitled to think that.  But try getting all of that done while your two youngest children (who are almost five and three) are at home.  And while your head feels like it's full of that gel stuff that's actually a soil substitute.  Uh huh, now you get it, right?  Not too shabby.  In fact, I kicked some domestic ass.

I was freaking unstoppable today.  Bask in my glory!

*cough*

I feel like crap today.

I woke up with insane sinus pressure and a killer sore throat.  Yay!  I'm sick!

And when I'm sick, I am a true joy.  A brilliant ray of sunshine bringing light to all those around me.  A real altruist, putting my physical discomfort and inability to breathe through my nose aside to ensure that everybody else's needs are met.

Yeah, I didn't think you'd buy that.  I did lay it on pretty thick.

I am miserable.  

Thank heavens that J and T both had school today, so I had light duty for about half of the day.  I spent much of it drinking tea and water with lemon, sucking on vitamin C drops, trying not to turn a coughing fit into a puking fit.  

The second part of light duty (after I brought T home from school) was pretty much like the first part, except with me trying to nap on the chair while T asked me for a snack or something to drink like every. thirty. seconds.  I finally snapped, told him that Mommy feels like a turd sandwich and would he please let me get some rest for a little while.  (no, I didn't use the phrase "turd sandwich" while speaking to my four-year-old although it was an apt description of how I felt)

And then light duty was over.  The bus arrived, depositing J at the corner.  Of course it was a rainy day, so the boys were extra squirrely with no place to go.  So they did what boys do best - run around the house and beat the crap out of each other.  Well, not so much beat the crap out of one another, more like annoy the crap out of one another.  Because that is a much more desirable option, right?

After the boys went to bed, I subjected myself to my old standby torture remedy - the neti pot.  Dealing with three rambunctious boys is a true joy while suffering massive sinus congestion.  So is running lightly salted water into one nostril and out the other.  I know, that sounds absolutely disgusting.  It is, if you watch yourself in the mirror (I strongly suggest you do not).  But I swear to you that nothing - nothing - will rid you of your sinus pressure by this nasty, highly effective method.

So that was my rainbow after the storm - rinsing the gunk out of my head with a small plastic watering can once the boys were in bed.  Gross, yes, but I'll take it.

Boys are gross

I did the boys' laundry today.

I employed my usual method of separation:  shirts, socks, underwear, and pajamas in the first load, pants in the second.  After sorting and folding forty-something pairs of underpants and socks, it's nice only to have to fold pants by the time the second load finishes drying.

As I fold, each clothing "type" gets separated into three piles, one for each kid.  I always save the underpants and socks for last, and this time while folding underpants, I noticed something odd.

I hadn't folded any underpants for J, my oldest.

I wondered why.

And then it dawned on me.

He had been wearing the same pair of underpants all week.  He wasn't changing his underpants when he got dressed in the morning.

Ew.

When he got home from school today, I asked why I hadn't folded any underpants for him.  He gave a "you got me" smile and looked down.  Busted!

I told him that I was going to start charging him a dollar a day if he didn't change his underpants and socks every day.

I think that got through to him.

Good grief, I hope so.

I don't even want to think about what I'm going to discover once he hits his teens.

Yeech.

Squee!

Hi, my name is L, and I am a Twi-hard.

Yes, I am a 40-year-old Twilight fan.

Actually, it's a little more complicated than that.

Isn't it always? 

What I like about the Twilight series:

• That all of the movies prominently feature Robert Pattinson
• That, when reading the books, I feel like a teenager again, but in a good way
• Both the books and the movies are just. so. ripe. for snarking

What I take issue with about the Twilight series:

• The stupid contact lenses that the actors playing the vampires wear
• The quality of Stephenie Meyer's writing
• The gaping plot holes that you could drive a semi through
• That Bella is supposedly so mature and self-possessed, yet is willing to throw her entire life away for a boy.  I'll admit that I've always been a sucker for a pretty face; if Robert Pattinson took a sudden interest in me, it would probably be difficult to resist, but come on now
• That Edward's irrational possessiveness of and attempts to control Bella, his breaking into her home, and watching her while she sleeps are passed off as romantic instead of what they really are:  stalking and abusive.

That said, I will still fork over eleventy-million dollars (or whatever the price of a movie ticket is these days) to go see Breaking Dawn Part 1.  

On Saturday I asked the Hubster if he was going to take me out on a date so we could see it on opening night.  

Hubster is not a Twilight fan.  Watching one of the movies is about as high on his priority list as going to the dentist.  Hubster has not been to the dentist in about five years.  

He laughed.  

I believe his exact response was "No fucking way."

I told him that I would just have to go see it with the girls.  He was not pleased.

Oh well.

I need me some RPattz.  Shirtless.  In a love sex scene.

Mmmm...

Is that a thing?

Last night I picked up pizza for dinner.

In case you haven't been playing along at home, we're redoing our kitchen.  The stakes were raised on Wednesday when the hardwood floors were sealed, leaving us with no stove.


On my way home, I drove behind a (rather nice, probably brand-spanking-new) Mercedes.  I must have been following too close for the driver's liking, since s/he did something that I had never seen before.  The car's left turn signal started blinking, and since I am averse to rear ending vehicles behind which I drive, I slowed down.  We passed three or four streets on our left, but the car never turned.  It never really slowed down, either.

I think that rat bastard put his signal on just to get me off his tail.

Is that a thing?  Or was he just a giant juice bag?

Only thirty-six more hours...

Until my kitchen gets reassembled!

YAY!!!

I know, you're all like What? What are you talking about, reassemble your kitchen?  What's up with that?

Well, I shall tell you.

In the beginning of July, we began a little home improvement project.  It's no big deal, really.  We began an addition.  Included in this project was, among other things, a complete kitchen overhaul.  You know, your typical, run-of-the-mill project.  No biggie.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you the best, most smartest decision ever part:  we're staying in the house.  The. Whole. Time.

A few weeks ago (I have no idea exactly when it happened; it could have been two weeks or two months, I just know it feels like freaking forever ago) our kitchen was gutted and stripped to the studs.  Thankfully we still had the use of our fridge and stove during this time.  Woo hoo!  Chicken nuggets and tater tots for dinner EVERY NIGHT!  Um, no.  I needed to try to keep some semblance of order (and nutrition) amid the chaos.  Dinner has pretty much consisted of anything I could assemble and cook in a disposable roasting pan.

There was a pretty tight rotation.  It went something like this:

• Monday - chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole
• Tuesday - nachos (made with ground beef that was browned at mom's house on Sunday)
• Wednesday - roast chicken with potatoes and vegetable
• Thursday - chicken parmigiana (made with cutlets that were breaded and baked at mom's)
• Friday - frozen pizza
• Saturday - sausage and peppers
• Sunday - takeout pizza (again)

If I was feeling a little ka-razey, I might switch up the entrees, but that was pretty much what we've been eating for the past six-ish weeks.

It has not been the most eco-friendly venture.  Many trees were killed, and more fossil fuels were depleted so that we could have plates and forks upon which to eat dinner.  Oh, and did I also mention that all non-disposable items like snack bowls and sippy cups with myriad places for bacteria to hide from sponges had to be washed in the bathroom sink?  

Once everything is in, I don't know what I'll do first.  No, scratch that.  I do know what I'll do first.  I will clean - wipe down cabinets, shelves, and wash the counters.  I know, way to jump in with both feet, right?

Okay, after all of that boring cleaning stuff, what should I make first?  Stir fry?  Lasagna?  Gluten free chocolate chip cookies?  

Please to excuse me while I mop the drool from my keyboard...